Page 29 - Teaching and learning of interdisciplinary thinking in higher education in engineering

Teaching and learning in interdisciplinary higher education: A systematic review
higher education to gain a comprehensive understanding of teaching and learning IDT. In addition, the model follows the alignment principle, which means that teaching and learning activities are aligned with desired learning outcomes. This principle leads to an outcome- based approach to teaching and learning that facilitates coherent and pedagogically underpinned curriculum design.
According to Biggs (2003), the components student, learning environment, and learning process represent several characteristics influencing the learning outcomes (see chapter 1.4). In the present study, the student and learning environment components were similar to Biggs (2003). Student characteristics are brought into the learning environment by the student, for instance prior knowledge and skills. In addition, learning environment addressed situational characteristics like teaching and assessment methods, which are decided by the institution, curriculum, and course developers. The component learning process in this study addressed learning process characteristics and learning activities, such as the sequencing of specific learning activities. The component learning outcomes of Biggs’ theory (2003) was defined as IDT and represented subskills that constitute the complex cognitive skill IDT (Van Merriënboer, 1997).
Figure 2.1 shows the four components used in this review study in accordance with the general teaching and learning model of Biggs (2003). As shown by the Conceptual Review Framework (see Figure 2.1), the learning outcome IDT is determined by the other components student, learning environment, and learning process interacting with each other. The general direction of interaction, represented by the bold arrows, follows that of Biggs (2003): the components student and learning environment (presage level) are precursors to the learning process, and jointly produce the activities students undertake for a given learning task (learning process level), and the learning process in turn produces the learning outcome IDT (product level). All components are connected by light arrows (see Figure 2.1) in order to
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